Dutch broadcaster: 2019 World Championships to introduce mixed team time trial

Sep 23 2018 09:17 pm CET

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The UCI will in the next week announce the new team time trial set up that will replace the current one. Men and women will be in one team representing their country.

The team time trial in 2018 is the last edition of the team time trial at the World Championships and the UCI has come up with a new idea to replace the event. Dutch broadcaster NOS reports that from 2019 it will still be a team time trial but it will be with country teams that will be formed by men and women.

Men will ride the first part of the course in Yorkshire, England, and then the women will do the final part. The Netherlands has some of the best time trialists in the world and the idea sounds good to the Dutch team.

"It will be fun to watch on television," said Anna van der Breggen to NOS. "It is a shame that you can't finish the season with your team, but it will surely be great fun."

Three-time Dutch time trial champion Ellen van Dijk welcomes the news. "It is a unique and special idea, and certainly not bad for the Netherlands," she commented. "I think it is special that they are going to combine men and women, that is quite a difference."

The rider also jokes about the fact that men and women are riding in the same team but separately. "Fortunately men ride first and then women. It is nice that I don't have to stay at the wheel of Tom Dumoulin. It will take some time to get used to it, but the Netherlands will then have a very strong team."